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Severe Weather

25 powerful Rim Fire photos you haven't seen

A firefighter surveys the damage and looks for hotspots at the Berkeley-run Tuolumne Family Camp, which was leveled by a wall of fire Sunday.

The Rim Fire, as it's called, burning at and around the Yosemite National Forest, torched the camp Sunday. This photos shows what remains of the beloved Berkeley-run Tuolumne Family Camp.

The Rim Fire, as it's called, burning at and around the Yosemite National Forest, torched the camp Sunday. This photos shows what remains of the beloved Berkeley-run Tuolumne Family Camp.

Another firefighter surveys the damage at the Tuolumne Family Camp.

The huge wildfire is now the biggest on record in California's Sierra Nevada.

Here's the view along Highway 120 on an exceptionally smoky morning.

Flames torch through the trees in the Stanislaus National Forest.

A pyrocumulus cloud towers over Groveland. Meteorologists said the cloud on Wednesday reached 43,000 feet.

The morning sunrise over Highway 120 is obscured by a thick blanket of smoke that is trapped each day on the Valley floor by cooler overnight weather.

The fire is raining ash on the reservoir that's the chief source of San Francisco's drinking water. Utility officials are moving water to reservoirs closer to the city. Here's a view of the blaze from LiveCopter3.

The fire is still several miles away from the steep granite canyon where the reservoir is nestled, but several spot fires are burning closer. Firefighters are protecting hydroelectric transmission lines and other utility facilities. Here's a view of the blaze from LiveCopter3.

Here's a view of the blaze from LiveCopter3.

Here's a view of the blaze from LiveCopter3.

Here's a view of the blaze from LiveCopter3.

KCRA 3's Melinda Meza snapped this photo from Sonora on Monday, where school was canceled over air-quality concerns.

KCRA 3's Melinda Meza snapped this photo last week.

How do you say thank-you to firefighters? The town of Groveland found a way, by making signs.

A few of the photos show Corinna Logh, owner of The Iron Door Restaurant, gathering up her kids and some friends to personalize one "thank-you" sign.

How do you say thank-you to firefighters? The town of Groveland found a way, by making signs.

A few of the photos show Corinna Logh, owner of The Iron Door Restaurant, gathering up her kids and some friends to personalize one "thank-you" sign.